Brush holder



R. A. RENO Q 2,852,144

BRUSH HOLDER Sept. 16, 1958 2 She ets-Sheet 1 Filed May 9, 1955 mmvrox.Robert H. Reno J H orey R. A. RENO BRUSH HOLDER Sept. 16, 1958 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 9, 1955 INVENTOR. RobeT't H. Reno H 501%ey2,852,144 Patented Sept. 16, 1958 BRUSH HOLDER Robert A. Reno,Worcester, Mass., assignor to Chester J. Spiewak, Worcester, Mass.

Application May 9, 1955, Serial No. 506,832

2 Claims. (Cl. 211-65) This invention relates to a brush holder and moreparticularly to apparatus arranged to maintain paint brushes insuspension in a container of solvent.

In maintaining paint brushes in a usable condition, one must useconsiderable care to assure that the used brush is not exposed to theair, since any slight residue of paint will cause the bristles to becomehard and no longer useful. Furthermore, one must see that the brush doesnot rest on its bristles, since they are easily set in curved conditionthat makes it difiicult to paint. The best way that has been discoveredto store a paint brush and to assure that these conditions are met is tohang the brush by its handle in a container with the bristles hanging ina solvent solution. Many devices have been evolved for effecting thissuspension, but none has been entirely satisfactory. Some of thedrawbacks shared by these previously-known devices are that they willnot accommodate a plurality of brushes, that they are not adapted tovarious sizes and shapes of containers, that they will not suspendbrushes of various lengths in small amount of solvent. These and otherdeficiencies of the prior art are obviated by the present invention in anovel manner.

It is therefore an outstanding object of the invention to provide abrush holder which is rugged and dependable in construction and whichmay be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a brush holder thatmay be used on containers having vari ous sizes and shapes of openings.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of abrush holder that will suspend a paint brush or the like in a containerwith the bristles hanging near the bottom thereof in a shallow pool ofsolvent, this being done irrespective of the depth of the container orthe length of the brush.

it is another object of the invention to provide a brush holder whichwill not become inoperative when covered with dirt and paint.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of partsset forth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto.

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood byreference to certain of its structural forms, as illustrated by theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of apparatus embodying the principles ofthe instant invention,

Figure 2 is a view of a portion of the invention taken on the line llllof Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional View of a portion of the invention taken on theline Ill-4H of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a view of a portion of the invention taken on the line iVIVof Figure 1, and

Figures 5 and 6 are perspective views showing two other modes ofoperation of the invention.

Referring first to Figure 1, wherein is best shown the general featuresoi the invention, the brush holder, in-

dicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown in use with acontainer 11 and a brush 12. The holder comprises a main member 13 and amain member 14 joined in fixed parallel relationship by a clampingmember 15. The main member 13 is made up of a left section 16 and aright section 17, while the main member 14 is composed of a left section18 and a right section 19. The clamp 15 consists of an upper half 20 anda lower half 21 joined by an eye bolt 22. Each of the sections 16, 17,18, and 19 of the main members comprises an elongated horizontal portionat one end of which is formed a relaitvely short vertical portion with ahook portion formed at its lower end; for instance, the left section 18of the main member 14 has a horizontal portion 23, a vertical portion 24and a hook portion 25. The entire section 18 is stamped from sheet metaland, therefore, is rather thin, as is apparent from the drawings. Thesurface facing the main member 13 is provided with semi-cyclindricalserrations 26, best shown in Figure 2. The hook portion 25, best shownin Figure .4, consists of a part 27 extending laterally from the lowerpart of the vertical portion 24 and defining therewith a generallyV-shaped notch 28 facing upwardly and semi-circular notch 29 facingdownwardly. Preferably, each main member is formed in one piece and theleft and right sections made by severing the piece centrally thereof;each main member has the horizontal portions in side-by-side oroverlapped condition, as is best seen in Figure 3. This same figureshows the manner in which the left section 16 and the right section 1'7of the main member 13 are held together by the clamp 15, the

left section 18 and the right section 19 of the main menu,

ber 14 being held in the same way. The facing surfaces of the halves 2t?and 21 of the clamp 15 are formed with grooves 31), 31, 32 and 33 whichretain the main members. The grooves 3i) and 32 are in opposed relationand serve to clamp and retain the sections 16 and 17 of the main member13, while the grooves 31 and 33 are similarly opposed and clamp thesections 18 and 1% of the main member 14. A nut 34 cooperates with theeye bolt 22 to hold the halves of the clamp 15 in clamping relation tothe main members.

The operation of the apparatus of the invention will now be readilyunderstood in view of the above description. Figures 1, 5 and 6 show theuse of the brush holder in three different ways. In Figure 1, forinstance, it is shown in use with a long brush and a short container,wherein the brush must be held as high as possible to avoid striking thebristles on the bottom of the container. The holder is placed on thecontainer with the vertical portions extending downwardly and the lip oredge of the container residing in each of the semicircular notches ofthe hook portions, for instance, the notch 29 of the hook portion 25. Inthis situation, the horizontal portions of the main members arepositioned as high above the bottom of the container 11 as is possiblewith this apparatus. The brush is placed between the main members, forinstance, with its handle of oval cross-section lying between thesections 16 and 18, the major axis of the oval lying parallel to thesections. Then, the brush is twisted through ninety degrees and locks inplace with the ends of the ovals lying in the Serrations 26, as shown inFigure 2. If the brush is of medium length or the container is of mediumheight, the holder is used in the manner shown in Figure 5, wherein thehorizontal portions rest on the lip of the container and the verticalportions hang down along the sides. It the brush is short or thecontainer is long, the holder may be used in the manner indicated inFigure 6. The holder is inverted from the position shown in Figure 1,the lip of the container residing in the V-shaped notches of the hookportion, for instance, the notch 28 of the hook portion 25. In thissituation the horizontal portions are as close to the bottom of thecontainer as it is possible to get with this invention. It should benoted that the distance between the hook portions may be adjusted byloosening the eye bolt 22 and its nut'34; the horizontal portions of thesections of the main member are then slid over one another until thedesired distance between the hook portions is obtained. Then, of course,the bolt 22 is tightened so that the clamp 15 holds them in the selectedposition. In the situation shown in Figure l, the distance to beadjusted is that between the semicircular notches; in the situationshown in Figure 6, the distance between the V-shaped notches isadjusted. For the use indicated in Figure 5 the vertical portions aremoved toward one another so that they embrace the sides of the containerand prevent the holder from being displaced from the container.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of the invention without departingfrom the material spiritthereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to theexact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include allsuch as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new anddesired to secure'by Letters Patent 1. A brush holder comprising twomain members, a clamp member holding the main members in fixedrelationship, each main member consisting of two sections, each sectionhaving a horizontal portion, a vertical portion extending at a rightangle from one end of the horizontal portion, and a hook portionextending from the other end of the vertical portion, the ends of thehorizontal portions of the sections of each main member being heldadjustably in over-lapped position by the clamping member, the clampalso serving to hold the horizontal portions associated with one mainmember in spaced parallel relation to the horizontal portions of theother main member, the facing surfaces of the said horizontal portionshaving serrations formed therein to grip a brush inserted between themain members, the clamping member comprising two halves whose facingsurfaces are formed with grooves, the grooves being located in opposedpairs, each pair clamping and retaining therebetween the horizontalportions of a main member.

2. A brush holder comprising two main members, a clamp member holdingthe main members in fixed relationship, each main member consisting oftwo sections, each section having a horizontal portion, a verticalportion extending at a right angle from one end of the horizontalportion, and a hook portion extending from the other end of the verticalportion, the ends of the horizontal portions of the sections of eachmain member being held adjustably in over-lapped position by theclamping member, the clamp also serving to hold the horizontal portionsassociated with one main member in spaced parallel relation to thehorizontal portions of the other main member, the clamping membercomprising two halves Whose facing surfaces are formed with grooves, thegrooves being located in opposed pairs, each pair clamping and retainingtherebetween the horizontal portions of a main member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS124,928 Bailey Mar. 26, 1872 1,603,375 Clowes Oct. 19, 1926 1,838,754Frame Dec. 29, 1931 2,057,225 Bernick Oct. 13, 1936 2,389,756 Beech Nov.27, 1945

